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Walking, riding and cycling

Information on where the routes are, finding out about Yorkshire Wolds Way, long distance routes, other countryside routes, mountain biking routes and finding a horse riding route.

Where are the walking, riding and cycling routes in the East Riding? 

One of the best ways to explore the East riding is on foot, with a horse or on your bike. With an extensive network of some 1600Km of footpaths and bridleways, there are some great routes to try. Most of the walks are short circular ones and can be completed in two to three hours. We have walks for all ages and abilities, so if you are feeling energetic then you can combine some of the walks to make a full day of it, or if you just fancy a stroll along a canal, we have a walk for you.

You can choose location, length and grade, and what sort of features you might be interested in like, Wolds, coastal, church, riverside, or walks with a pub on route.

For more information about these walks visit the Walking the Riding website.

Walking the Riding (external website)

The website is easy to use and once you have chosen a walk you can print the map off to take with you. We do recommend that you purchase a detailed ordnance survey map called ‘Explorer’. These are the orange fronted maps and are available at all good bookshops. You can expect to pay about £8. Look out for the open country symbol on the maps as these will give you other places to explore away from ‘paths’.

Once you have tried a few of our recommended walks, you’ll pick up reading the map and perhaps want to try devising your own walks. Any of the green dashes on these ‘Explorer’ maps can be used by the public, so feel free to explore.

We also produce a number of leisure cycle maps and town centre walking and cycling maps. These maps are available to download or paper copies can be requested from the Transport Policy pages of this website:

Read more about town centre walking and cycling routes and view maps

How can I find out about the Yorkshire Wolds Way National Trail?

The Yorkshire Wolds Way is one of Britain’s premier walking routes but it is also one of the quietest. So it’s a great place to recharge the batteries and really feel that you’ve escaped to a simpler place. It is a great route for wildlife, you’ll see hares and hear skylarks, you may well see the fantastic red kites.

The route is 79 miles long and the guide book recommends taking five days, but if you can spare an extra day the distance will be easier and you will have more time to take in the delightful dry chalk valleys that snake their way through the Wolds. There are ups and downs on the route as it follows the rolling Yorkshire Wolds landscape but generally it is not too strenuous.

To get more information on the route please visit the website 

Yorkshire Wolds Way - National Trail (external website)

What long distance routes are there in the East Riding? 

The East Riding is blessed with a huge number of long distance routes and challenge walks, such as:

Yorkshire Wolds Way (National Trail) (external website)

Trans Pennine Trail (external website)

Way of the Roses coast to coast cycle route (external website)

Sections of the National Cycle Network (external website)

Minster Way (external website)

High Hunsley Circuit (external website)

Chalkland Way (external website)

Information on other challenge walks including the Wilberforce Way, Headland Way, Beverley 20 and Howden 20 can be found on the Walking the Riding website. You will need to search under 'challenge walks' in the 'find walks' section:

Walking the Riding (external East Riding website)

What other countryside routes exist in the East Riding?

There are huge number of other routes that you can use in the East Riding that may not be shown on a ordnance survey map, nor shown on our Walking the Riding web site. 

Permissive routes created by agri-environment scheme like higher level scheme  (HLS).

  • Permissive routes on land owned by the ‘public at large’ like environment agency or Forestry Commission.
  • Permissive routes on land held by water companies, or British Waterways.
  • Routes with local permissive access on land owned by private individuals or parish councils.
  • Access created by the Inland Revenue schemes for larger estates.

In addition the voluntary sector / parish councils often create parish trails or circular walks. 

How do I find a mountain biking route?

Mountain biking is a great way to keep fit and enables you to explore greater distances than walking. You are permitted to use public bridleways, disused railway lines owned by the council and green lanes. It is important that you do not use public footpaths for cycling as this causes damage to the surface and conflict with walkers.

Visit the Walking the Riding website to search out routes that you can use. Use the ‘Find Walks’ button to undertake an advanced search and just highlight the ‘mountain biking and horse riding’ routes. Alternatively, utilise the ‘design your own walk’ button to bring up a map of bridleways shown in green that can be used as a basis for designing a local route. Please note that some of the green lanes may not be coloured as these are often roads open to vehicles, even though they are not surfaced.

Walking the Riding (external East Riding website)

Read more information for cyclistswhich provides details about cycling to work, or leisure rides on roads. 

How do I find a horse riding route? 

Horse riding is great way to keep fit and riding enables you to explore greater distances than waking. Access to a horse box does widen the choice but most riders use local networks or quiet roads, bridleways and green lanes. It is fair to say that there is a shortage of routes in some areas and we do try to improve access for horse riders whenever possible by working in partnership with the British Horse Society.

Visit the Walking the Riding web site to search out routes that you can use. Use the ‘Find Walks’ button to undertake an advanced search and just highlight the ‘mountain biking and horse riding’ routes. Alternatively, utilise the ‘design your own walk’ button to bring up a map of bridleways shown in green that can be used as a basis for designing a local route. Please note that some of the green lanes may not be coloured as these are often roads open to vehicles, even though they are not surfaced.

Walking the Riding (external East Riding website)